Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, has predicted that the country may experience rice shortage if appropriate measures are not taken to replant after the recent flood.
Reporters that Ogbeh made this statement in Abuja on Thursday at the inauguration of National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) Molecular Facility and the 2018 seed fair and Farmer’s field day.

He said that the flood had affected some major rice producing states, adding that the country might experience scarcity of rice, if not addressed.

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“We have to find out a way to assist farmers, who were affected by the flood; places like Jigawa, Kebbi, Anambra, and Kogi were majorly affected. Farmers lost everything they planted…There are different varieties of rice that are being produced at NASC like faro 66 and 67 which are flood tolerant.
“We hope to get them into the field in large quantity for farmers to plant in the near future.
“We are also hoping that as soon as the rain seized, we are encouraging farmers to replant so that the residual moisture on the soil plus irrigation can give us another crop by the end of December or early January.
“Otherwise, we will be in serious trouble for rice, millet, sorghum, and maize next year.”